Olympic esports will level the playing field, says boss

The Olympic Esports Games will put gaming “at the same level as the Winter and Summer Olympics”, according to the boss of one of the world’s biggest teams.

This week the International Olympics Committee announced a 12-year partnership with Saudi Arabia to stage the standalone event.

The Kingdom recently hosted the Esports World Cup, with some fans, players and commentators boycotting the event in protest over its human rights record.

Alban Dechelotte, CEO of G2 Esports, tells BBC Newsbeat the esports version of the Olympics will aim for equal participation of male and female gamers.

Alban says he was approached to advise the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as part of its plans to attract younger audiences.

He believes it’s a huge opportunity for competitive gaming to reach new people.

“For 20 years esports and gaming has been growing,” he says.

“It’s clear it’s not just a trend. We have years of seeing millions of of people watching the biggest finals.

“There’s less of a fear and more a kind of excitement for the potential.”

Alban tells Newsbeat the turning point came at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, which held esports events alongside more traditional sports.

“People from the Olympic Committee attended and were like ‘OK, now we get it’,” he says.

Despite declaring the experiment a success the Commonwealth Games Federation announced esports would not feature at the 2026 games in Australia.

At the time, it didn’t reveal plans to hold a separate event.

Alban thinks it’s the right decision as it stops existing games from getting even bigger.

“It would be difficult for any city to host,” he says.

“I think it gives more space for a celebration of gaming and esports instead of being one of the additional sports.”

It’s not clear which games will be included in the competition yet, but Rocket League, League of Legends, EA FC and Street Fighter featured in the Asia and Commonwealth Games.

There’s a question over whether first-person shooters such as Call of Duty and Counter-Strike 2, which both have massive tournament scenes, will be included.

Alban says he also has doubts over whether they will make the cut at first.

“If you ask me ‘is it going to happen next year?’ Probably not,” he says.

“I think it’s totally possible in the future, finding a balance with the values that the Olympic Committee wants to project.”

One big difference will be players competing under their national flags – a prospect Alban is particularly excited about.

“Everybody wants to see what a Danish team will do against a Korean team,” he says.

“I would love to see it too.”

It also raises the possibility of superstar players from rival teams joining up to compete for their national sides.

At the 2022 Asia Games, League of Legends icon Lee Sang-hyeok, aka Faker, was a member of the South Korean squad with Gen. G member Jung Ji-hoon, aka Chovy.

Organisers of the Esports World Cup have defended the decision to hold the event in Saudia Arabia.

The Arab country, where homosexuality is illegal, has come in for criticism over its stance on LGBT relationships and lack of rights for women.

Similar concerns over “sportswashing” – accusations of hosting big events to distract from these issues – have followed the Olympic announcement.

Alban says his own experiences in Saudi Arabia, where a number of high-profile esports events have been staged, have been positive.

Like the world cup bosses, he also says he’s had assurances from Saudi officials that the competition will be open to anyone regardless of gender or sexuality.

Not everyone is convinced, and the world cup has also faced criticism for a lack of female representation, with just one out of 22 events specifically for women.

The rest are open to anyone but don’t include many female pros.

Alban admits the esports industry has so “failed” female players who are currently under-represented at the top level.

“Talented and gifted players are there, but we don’t give them enough chances to perform at the highest level and we don’t give them enough paths to become pros,” he says.

He promises the Olympic Esports Games will be different and the goal will be for equal participation from the inaugural event next year.

“There’s a commitment to aim for full parity. And that would be a game changer, not just for the Olympics, but for esports too,” he says.  – bbc.com